Sound capture focus adjustment for hearing prosthesis

ABSTRACT

A hearing prosthesis, the hearing prosthesis including a plurality of sound capture devices and a determinator configured to generate a parameter indicative of an orientation of the plurality of sound capture devices relative to a reference, wherein the hearing prosthesis is configured to adjust a direction of focus of the hearing prosthesis based on at least the parameter.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to hearing prostheses, and moreparticularly, to sound capture focus adjustment for hearing prostheses.

2. Related Art

Hearing loss, which may be due to many different causes, is generally oftwo types, conductive and sensorineural. Sensorineural hearing loss isdue to the absence or destruction of the hair cells in the cochlea thattransduce sound signals into nerve impulses. Various prosthetic hearingimplants have been developed to provide individuals who suffer fromsensorineural hearing loss with the ability to perceive sound. One suchprosthetic hearing implant is referred to as a cochlear implant.Cochlear implants use an electrode array implanted in the cochlea of arecipient to bypass the mechanisms of the ear. More specifically, anelectrical stimulus is provided via the electrode array directly to theauditory nerve, thereby causing a hearing sensation.

Conductive hearing loss occurs when the normal mechanical pathways thatprovide sound to hair cells in the cochlea are impeded, for example, bydamage to the ossicular chain or ear canal. However, individualssuffering from conductive hearing loss may retain some form of residualhearing because the hair cells in the cochlea may remain undamaged.

Individuals suffering from conductive hearing loss are typically notcandidates for a cochlear implant. Insertion of the electrode assemblyinto a recipient's cochlea exposes the recipient to potentialdestruction of the remaining hair cells in the cochlea. Typically,destruction of the cochlea hair cells results in the loss of residualhearing in the portion of the cochlea in which the electrode assembly isimplanted.

Rather, individuals suffering from conductive hearing loss typicallyreceive an acoustic hearing aid, referred to as a hearing aid herein.Hearing aids rely on principles of air conduction to transmit acousticsignals to the cochlea. In particular, a hearing aid typically uses anarrangement positioned in the recipient's ear canal or on the outer earto amplify a sound received at the outer ear of the recipient. Thisamplified sound reaches the cochlea causing motion of the perilymph andstimulation of the auditory nerve.

Unfortunately, not all individuals who suffer from conductive hearingloss are able to derive suitable benefit from hearing aids. For example,some individuals are prone to chronic inflammation or infection of theear canal thereby eliminating hearing aids as a potential solution.Other individuals have malformed or absent outer ear and/or ear canalsresulting from a birth defect, or as a result of medical conditions suchas Treacher Collins syndrome or Microtia. Furthermore, hearing aids aretypically unsuitable for individuals who suffer from single-sideddeafness (total hearing loss only in one ear). Hearing aids commonlyreferred to as “cross aids” have been developed for single sided deafindividuals. These devices receive the sound from the deaf side with onehearing aid and present this signal (either via a direct electricalconnection or wirelessly) to a hearing aid which is worn on the oppositeside. Unfortunately, this requires the recipient to wear two hearingaids. Additionally, in order to prevent acoustic feedback problems,hearing aids generally require that the ear canal be plugged, resultingin unnecessary pressure, discomfort, or other problems such as eczema.

As noted above, hearing aids rely primarily on the principles of airconduction. However, other types of devices commonly referred to as boneconducting hearing aids or bone conduction devices, function byconverting a received sound into a mechanical force. This force istransferred through the bones of the skull to the cochlea and causesmotion of the cochlea fluid. Hair cells inside the cochlea areresponsive to this motion of the cochlea fluid and generate nerveimpulses which result in the perception of the received sound. Boneconduction devices have been found suitable to treat a variety of typesof hearing loss and may be suitable for individuals who cannot derivesufficient benefit from acoustic hearing aids, cochlear implants, etc,or for individuals who suffer from stuttering problems.

Another type of hearing prosthesis that converts received sound into amechanical force in treating hearing loss is a direct acoustic cochlearstimulator (also sometimes referred to as a “direct mechanicalstimulator” or “inner ear mechanical stimulation device”). A directacoustic cochlear stimulator comprises an actuator that generatesvibrations that are coupled to the inner ear of a recipient and thusbypasses the outer and middle ear.

One other type of hearing prosthesis that converts sound into amechanical force in treating hearing loss is a middle ear mechanicalstimulation device (also sometimes referred to as a “direct drive middleear hearing device” or “implantable middle ear hearing device”). Such,stimulation devices comprise an actuator that generates vibrations thatare coupled to the middle ear of a recipient (e.g., to a bone of theossicles).

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hearingprosthesis, the hearing prosthesis comprising a plurality of soundcapture devices, and a determinator configured to generate a parameterindicative of an orientation of the plurality of sound capture devicesrelative to a reference, wherein the hearing prosthesis is configured toadjust a direction of focus of the hearing prosthesis based on at leastthe parameter.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodof capturing sound with a hearing prosthesis, comprising automaticallyfocusing a sound capture apparatus based on an orientation of acomponent of a hearing prosthesis relative to a reference.

In yet another aspect, there is provided an apparatus, comprising ahearing prosthesis including a plurality of sound capture devicesconfigured to automatically direct a sound capture direction in adirection relative to a reference irrespective of a rotationalorientation of the sound capture devices relative to the reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of an individual's head in which an auditoryprosthesis in accordance with embodiments of the present invention maybe implemented;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an exemplary direct acoustic cochlearstimulator in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of another type of direct acousticcochlear stimulator in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of an exemplary hearing prosthesis inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an external component of an exemplaryhearing prosthesis in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of an external component of an exemplary hearingprosthesis attached to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6A is a conceptual diagram depicting orientation of a sound capturesystem of an exemplary hearing prosthesis in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a conceptual diagram depicting adjusted orientation, relativeto that depicted in FIG. 6A, of the sound capture system of an exemplaryhearing prosthesis in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 presents a flowchart for an exemplary algorithm in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 presents an alternate flowchart for another exemplary algorithmin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a hearingprosthesis that includes an external component attachable to a recipientat a variety of orientations. The external component includes a soundcapture apparatus having a plurality of sound capture devices (e.g.,microphones) configured to focus on an area relative to the externalcomponent (e.g., through beamforming). The sound capture apparatus isconfigured to adjust a focus of the sound capture apparatus based on theorientation of the sound capture devices relative to a reference, suchas a fixed reference (e.g., the direction of gravity). In an exemplaryembodiment, this allows the sound capture apparatus to automaticallyfocus on an area in front of the recipient regardless of the rotationalorientation of the sound capture devices/external component relative tothe recipient.

FIG. 1 is perspective view of an individual's head in which an auditoryprosthesis in accordance with embodiments of the present invention maybe implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the individual's hearing systemcomprises an outer ear 101, a middle ear 105 and an inner ear 107. In afully functional ear, outer ear 101 comprises an auricle 110 and an earcanal 102. An acoustic pressure or sound wave 103 is collected byauricle 110 and channeled into and through ear canal 102. Disposedacross the distal end of ear cannel 102 is a tympanic membrane 104 whichvibrates in response to sound wave 103. This vibration is coupled tooval window or fenestra ovalis 112 through three bones of middle ear105, collectively referred to as the ossicles 106 and comprising themalleus 108, the incus 109 and the stapes 111. Bones 108, 109 and 111 ofmiddle ear 105 serve to filter and amplify sound wave 103, causing ovalwindow 112 to articulate, or vibrate in response to vibration oftympanic membrane 104. This vibration sets up waves of fluid motion ofthe perilymph within cochlea 140. Such fluid motion, in turn, activatestiny hair cells (not shown) inside of cochlea 140. Activation of thehair cells causes appropriate nerve impulses to be generated andtransferred through the spiral ganglion cells (not shown) and auditorynerve 114 to the brain (also not shown) where they are perceived assound.

As shown in FIG. 1, semicircular canals 125 are three half-circular,interconnected tubes located adjacent cochlea 140. The three canals arethe horizontal semicircular canal 126, the posterior semicircular canal127, and the superior semicircular canal 128. The canals 126, 127 and128 are aligned approximately orthogonally to one another. Specifically,horizontal canal 126 is aligned roughly horizontally in the head, whilethe superior 128 and posterior canals 127 are aligned roughly at a 45degree angle to a vertical through the center of the individual's head.

Each canal is filled with a fluid called endolymph and contains a motionsensor with tiny hairs (not shown) whose ends are embedded in agelatinous structure called the cupula (also not shown). As the skulltwists in any direction, the endolymph is forced into different sectionsof the canals. The hairs detect when the endolymph passes thereby, and asignal is then sent to the brain. Using these hair cells, horizontalcanal 126 detects horizontal head movements, while the superior 128 andposterior 127 canals detect vertical head movements.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an exemplary direct acoustic cochlearstimulator 200A in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

Direct acoustic cochlear stimulator 200A comprises an external component242 that is directly or indirectly attached to the body of therecipient, and an internal component 244A that is temporarily orpermanently implanted in the recipient. External component 242 typicallycomprises two or more sound input elements, such as microphones 224A,224B, and 224C for detecting sound, a sound processing unit 226, a powersource (not shown), and an external transmitter unit (also not shown).The external transmitter unit is disposed on the exterior surface ofsound processing unit 226 and comprises an external coil (not shown).Sound processing unit 226 processes the output of microphones 224 andgenerates encoded signals, sometimes referred to herein as encoded datasignals, which are provided to the external transmitter unit. For easeof illustration, sound processing unit 226 is shown detached from therecipient.

In the present embodiment, microphones 224A, 224B, and 224C areconfigured as a microphone array, where sound processing unit 226processes the signals received from the microphones 224A, 224B, and 224Cto effect a microphone beam shape. For example, in an embodiment, thesound processing unit processes the signals received from microphones224 to form microphone beam shape pointed towards the front of therecipient. A further description of exemplary beam shapes will bediscussed below. Although microphones 224 are illustrated as dispersedaround the edges of external component 242, in other embodiments themicrophones 224 may be distributed in different configurations. Forexample, microphones 224 may be distributed on the outward facing faceof external component 242. Additionally, in other embodiments the numberof microphones 224 may be any number of two or more microphones that maybe used for effecting a beam shape in particular direction.

Internal component 244A comprises an internal receiver unit 232, astimulator unit 220, and a stimulation arrangement 250A. Internalreceiver unit 232 and stimulator unit 220 are hermetically sealed withina biocompatible housing, sometimes collectively referred to herein as astimulator/receiver unit.

Internal receiver unit 232 comprises an internal coil (not shown), andpreferably, a magnet (also not shown) fixed relative to the internalcoil. The external coil transmits electrical signals (i.e., power andstimulation data) to the internal coil via a radio frequency (RF) link.The internal coil is typically a wire antenna coil comprised of multipleturns of electrically insulated single-strand or multi-strand platinumor gold wire. The electrical insulation of the internal coil is providedby a flexible silicone molding (not shown). In use, implantable receiverunit 132 is positioned in a recess of the temporal bone adjacent auricle110 of the recipient in the illustrated embodiment.

In the illustrative embodiment, stimulation arrangement 250A isimplanted in middle ear 105. For ease of illustration, ossicles 106 havebeen omitted from FIG. 2A. However, it should be appreciated thatstimulation arrangement 250A is implanted without disturbing ossicles106 in the illustrated embodiment.

Stimulation arrangement 250A comprises an actuator 240, a stapesprosthesis 252 and a coupling element 251. In this embodiment,stimulation arrangement 250A is implanted and/or configured such that aportion of stapes prosthesis 252 abuts an opening in one of thesemicircular canals 125. For example, in the illustrative embodiment,stapes prosthesis 252 abuts an opening in horizontal semicircular canal126. It would be appreciated that in alternative embodiments,stimulation arrangement 250A is implanted such that stapes prosthesis252 abuts an opening in posterior semicircular canal 127 or superiorsemicircular canal 128.

As noted above, a sound signal is received by two or more microphones224, processed by sound processing unit 226, and transmitted as encodeddata signals to internal receiver 232. Based on these received signals,stimulator unit 220 generates drive signals which cause actuation ofactuator 240. This actuation is transferred to stapes prosthesis 252such that a wave of fluid motion is generated in horizontal semicircularcanal 126. Because, vestibule 129 provides fluid communication betweenthe semicircular canals 125 and the median canal, the wave of fluidmotion continues into median canal, thereby activating the hair cells ofthe organ of Corti. Activation of the hair cells causes appropriatenerve impulses to be generated and transferred through the spiralganglion cells (not shown) and auditory nerve 114 to the brain (also notshown) where they are perceived as sound.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of another type of direct acousticcochlear stimulator 200B in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. Direct acoustic cochlear stimulator 200B comprises anexternal component 242, which is directly or indirectly attached to thebody of the recipient, and an internal component 244B which istemporarily or permanently implanted in the recipient. As describedabove with reference to FIG. 2A, external component 242 typicallycomprises two or more sound input elements, such as microphones 224A,224B, and 224C, a sound processing unit 226, a power source (not shown),and an external transmitter unit (also not shown). Also as describedabove, internal component 244B comprises an internal receiver unit 232,a stimulator unit 220, and a stimulation arrangement 250B.

In the illustrative embodiment, stimulation arrangement 250B isimplanted in middle ear 105. For ease of illustration, ossicles 106 havebeen omitted from FIG. 2B. However, it should be appreciated thatstimulation arrangement 250B is implanted without disturbing ossicles106 in the illustrated embodiment.

Stimulation arrangement 250B comprises an actuator 240, a stapesprosthesis 254 and a coupling element 253 connecting the actuator to thestapes prosthesis. In this embodiment stimulation arrangement 250B isimplanted and/or configured such that a portion of stapes prosthesis 254abuts round window 121.

As noted above, a sound signal is received by two or more microphones224, processed by sound processing unit 226, and transmitted as encodeddata signals to internal receiver 232. Based on these received signals,stimulator unit 220 generates drive signals which cause actuation ofactuator 240. This actuation is transferred to stapes prosthesis 254such that a wave of fluid motion is generated in the perilymph in scalatympani. Such fluid motion, in turn, activates the hair cells of theorgan of Corti. Activation of the hair cells causes appropriate nerveimpulses to be generated and transferred through the spiral ganglioncells (not shown) and auditory nerve 114 to the brain (also not shown)where they are perceived as sound.

It should be noted that the embodiments of FIGS. 2A and 2B are but twoexemplary embodiments of a direct acoustic cochlear stimulator, and inother embodiments other types of direct acoustic cochlear stimulator areimplemented. Further, although FIGS. 2A and 2B provide illustrativeexamples of a direct acoustic cochlear stimulator system, in otherembodiments a middle ear mechanical stimulation device can be configuredin a similar manner, with the exception that instead of the actuator 240being coupled to the inner ear of the recipient, the actuator is coupledto the middle ear of the recipient. For example, in an embodiment, theactuator stimulates the middle ear by direct mechanical coupling viacoupling element to ossicles 106 (FIG. 1), such to incus 109 (FIG. 1).

In determining the drive signals to cause actuation of actuator 240, theresonance peak of the actuator are taken into account by the stimulatorunit 220 in the presently described embodiment. As is known to one ofskill in the art, resonance refers to the tendency of a system tooscillate with a larger amplitude at some frequencies than at others.And, a resonance peak refers to frequencies at which a peak in theamplitude occurs.

It is noted that while the above embodiment has been described in termsof a direct acoustic cochlear stimulator system, other embodiments ofthe present invention may be practiced with other types of hearingprostheses, such as a cochlear implant and/or a bone conduction deviceand/or a combination of the devices/systems detailed herein. In someembodiments, any hearing prosthesis that utilizes an external componentthat has a sound capture apparatus configured to focus on an area (i.e.,having directional/directionality capability) that may be attached to arecipient in a variety of orientations may be practiced with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a functional block diagram of a hearing prosthesis 300according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.4 depicts an isometric view of an exemplary external component 242 ofthe exemplary hearing prosthesis 300. In an exemplary embodiment, thehearing prosthesis 300 may correspond to the direct acoustic cochlearstimulator 200A detailed above, with external component 242corresponding to the external component 242 detailed above with respectto FIGS. 2A and 2B and internal component 244A corresponding to theinternal component 244A detailed above with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B.FIG.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the external component 242includes microphones 224A, 224B and 224C that are in signalcommunication with sound processing unit 226 via signal routes 324A,324B and 324C. Collectively, these components form a sound captureapparatus 310. As will be detailed below, the sound capture apparatusmay also include a focus unit 323 that is part of the sound processingunit 226, but may also be a separate component from the sound processingunit 226. The sound processing unit 226 is in signal communication withtransceiver 330, which includes a coil 332 (corresponding to theexternal coil referenced above with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B). Soundprocessing unit 226 outputs signals indicative of processed capturedsound via signal route 326 to transceiver 330, which transmits viaexternal coil 332 an electromagnetic signal 342 to the internalcomponent 244A. External component 242 also includes a determinator 320which functions to determine the orientation of the external deviceand/or the sound capture apparatus and, in an exemplary embodiment, issensitive to a gravity field 303, and a magnet 340. The sound captureapparatus 310 and the determinator 320 collectively form a sound capturesystem. These components will be described further below. Also, in anexemplary embodiment, the sound processing unit 226 may be located inthe internal component 244A of the hearing prosthesis 300, as will bedescribed below.

While the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 utilizes three sound capturedevices in the form of three respective microphones, other embodimentsmay use more than three sound capture devices/microphones. In theembodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4, the microphones are arrayed on the frontface of the housing 342 at about 120 degree intervals (e.g., at the 12o'clock, 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock position). However, in otherembodiments, the microphones may be arrayed about the side of thehousing 342 as depicted above in FIG. 2A. Microphones on the side andthe front may be used in combination. Moreover, the spacing of themicrophones may be different than that of FIGS. 3 and 4. For example,the microphone pattern may be a first microphone located at the 12o'clock position, a second microphone located at the 3 o'clock position,and a third microphone located at the 7 o'clock position. Any spatialarrangement of three or more microphones may be used in some embodimentsof the present invention if such spatial arrangement will permit suchembodiments to be practiced.

As may be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the external coil 332 of transceiver330, the sound processing unit 226 and the microphones 224A, 224B and224C are packaged in a single unit within or otherwise on a housing 342.(In an exemplary embodiment, as noted above, the sound processing unit226 may be located elsewhere.) Such a device is sometimes referred to asa coil sound processor, a coil microphone and/or a buttonprocessor/sound processor, etc., because the external coil that is usedto communicate with the internal component 244A is housed within orotherwise supported by the same components that house or support thesound processor unit and/or the microphones. This is in contrast to anexternal component of a hearing prosthesis in which the microphone(s)and/or sound processor unit are housed in or otherwise located on aso-called behind-the-ear (BTE) unit that hooks around the ear and is insignal communication with an external coil remote from the housing ofthe BTE unit. In this regard, the external component 242 according to anembodiment of the present invention is a device that is attachable tothe head of a recipient without contacting the recipient's ear and/orotherwise being significantly supported by the recipients' ear or otherappendage of the recipient. In an embodiment, the external component 242is attachable to the head of the recipient such that a face of theexternal component 242 (opposite side of that which may be seen in FIG.4) abuts the skin of the recipient and there is no contact and/orminimal contact with skin of the recipient by the sides of the externalcomponent 242. FIG. 5 depicts such an exemplary external component 242so attached to a recipient 500 having an ear 510. (Additional aspects ofFIG. 5 will be described below.)

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the externalcomponent 242 is held against the head of a recipient by a magneticfield that is established between the external component 242 and theinternal component 244A. As noted above, the external component 242 mayinclude magnet 340 and/or other ferromagnetic material fixed relative tothe external coil 332 and/or the internal component may include a magnet(not shown) fixed relative to the internal coil (not shown). Themagnetic field may be established between these magnet(s) to hold theexternal component 242 against the head of the recipient 500 such thatthe radio frequency (RF) link between the two components can bemaintained (e.g., the respective coils are sufficiently aligned with oneanother and sufficiently in close proximity to one another).

As will be readily apparent from the above, in at least some embodimentsof the external component 242, the external component 242, and thus thesound capture apparatus 310 (and, more particularly, the microphones224A, 224B and 224C) may be placed on the recipient in two or more ofany number of rotational orientations relative to the recipient. (It isnoted that as described herein, the orientation of the externalcomponent 242 will be considered fixed relative to the orientation ofthe sound capture apparatus 310 (and, more particularly, the microphones224A, 224B and 224C), and visa-versa, and reference herein to theorientation of one will be considered reference to the orientation ofthe other, and visa-versa, unless otherwise noted.)

Briefly, FIGS. 6A and 6B depict two different placements of the externalcomponent 242 having two different rotational orientations relative tothe recipient, where the orientation of the external component 242 inFIG. 6B corresponds to a rotation of about 165 degrees clockwise fromthat of FIG. 6A. As may be seen, the orientation of microphones 224A,224B and 224C relative to the horizontal line 530 are different betweenthe two figures. These figures will be further described below.

The external component 242 of FIG. 4 contrasts with an externalcomponent utilizing a BTE unit, which typically has the feature that themicrophone(s) of the external component face in about the same directionevery time the recipient attaches the external component to himself orherself. This is because the housing of the BTE unit conforms to therecipient's ear and thus any component fixedly mounted to the housing,such as the microphones, will be located relative to the recipient inabout the same orientation every time. Conversely, the rotationalfreedom of the external component 242 of the present invention existsbecause, in at least some embodiments, the magnetic field between theexternal component 242 and the internal component 244A simply pulls theexternal component 242 towards the internal component, and there is noportion of the recipient that indexes the external component 242 to aspecific rotational orientation (in contrast to a BTE unit vis-à-vis theear). Also, the magnetic field does not index the external component.Moreover, after attachment to the recipient, the external component 242may rotate relative to the recipient. While friction between the skinand/or hair of the recipient and the external component 242 tends toreact against at least limited rotational forces imparted onto theexternal component 242 after it is attached to the head of therecipient, the rotational orientation of the external component 242 maystill change after attachment.

A result of the fact that the external component 242 may be held on therecipient in a variety of rotational orientations and/or that therotational orientation of the external component 242 may change afterattachment to the recipient is that (i) the orientation of themicrophones 224A, 224B and 224C vis-à-vis the area in front of therecipient may be different each time that the recipient attaches theexternal component 242 to himself or herself and/or (ii) the orientationof the microphones vis-à-vis the area in front of the recipient maychange after attachment. In this regard, an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention includes a sound capture apparatus/sound capturesystem that is configured to focus on an area. As will be detailedfurther below, such focusing capability/directional capability may beachieved via beamforming, where the beamforming is achieved via signalprocessing to achieve spatial selectivity of the sound captureapparatus.

The directional capability/focusing capability of the sound apparatus310/sound capture system has utility in embodiments where it can becorrelated to a specific area relative to the recipient. A sound captureapparatus configured to focus on an area, such as an area relative tothe external component 242, permits the sound capture apparatus/soundcapture system to be “focused” in a given direction so that soundoriginating or otherwise traveling from that direction is weightedrelative to other sounds, thereby permitting the recipient to hear moreof that sound than other sounds. Such a feature has utility in thatusers of hearing prostheses often seek to hear words spoken to them tothe exclusion of other words spoken to others, and thus the soundcapture apparatus 310 can be focused to better capture such spokensounds. Specifically, because a user typically faces the direction fromwhich the spoken words originate or otherwise travel from, an embodimentof the present invention permits the sound capture apparatus to focus ina specific direction relative to the external component 242 to bettercapture sound from that specific direction. Because, as noted above, theexternal component 242 may be held on the user in a variety oforientations, an embodiment of the present invention permits the focusof the sound capture apparatus to be adjusted based on a parameterindicative of the rotational orientation of the external component 242relative to a reference, such as a fixed reference. (Hereinafter, thereference will generally be described in terms of a fixed reference.) Inan exemplary embodiment, the determinator 320 of the external component242 provides this parameter indicative of the rotational orientation ofthe external component 242, as will be described further below.

FIG. 7 provides a flow-chart 700 representing an algorithm that may beused in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In anexemplary embodiment, a controller, which may be included in the signalprocessing unit 226, which may be the signal processing unit 226, whichmay be the focus unit 323, or which may be a separate unit, may beconfigured to execute such an algorithm (i.e., control the variouscomponents of the external component 242 execute this algorithm). In theexemplary algorithm, at step 710, a parameter indicative of a rotationalorientation of the external component 242 and/or the sound captureapparatus 310 and/or the microphones 224A, 224B and 224C, relative to areference, such as a fixed reference, is generated. At step 720, thefocus of the sound capture apparatus 320 is adjusted based on thegenerated parameter generated in step 710. The ramifications of thisalgorithm will now be described with respect to FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B.

As noted above, FIG. 5 depicts the external component 242 attached to arecipient 500. As noted above, the rotational orientation of theexternal component 242 and/or the sound capture apparatus 310 may bedifferent each time that the external component 242 is attached to therecipient, as is represented by arrows 505 in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, arrow520 reflects the direction of gravity relative to the recipient 500 asdepicted when the recipient is standing erect and his or her head is nottilted upward or downward. A line 530 normal to the direction of gravitythat passes through the geometric center of the external component 242has been added to FIG. 5 for ease of explanation. FIG. 6A duplicatessome of the images depicted in FIG. 5 where the orientation of theimages presented in FIG. 6A are identical to those depicted in FIG. 5.As may be seen, the rotational orientation of the external component 242and/or the sound capture apparatus 310 is such that microphone 224A islocated at the 12 o'clock position. In FIG. 6A, a line 550 has beendrawn extending through the 12 and 6 o'clock positions is parallel tothe direction of gravity 520, this line being a reference line asfurther detailed below.

As noted above, the external component 242 is configured to adjust afocus of the sound capture apparatus 310. Some exemplary embodiments ofsuch a configuration will now be described. It is noted herein that asub-component described as having a given capability also means that acomponent including that sub-component has that capability.

In an exemplary embodiment, referring to FIG. 3, the external component242 includes a focus unit 323 that is configured to adjust the directionof focus of the sound capture apparatus 310. As depicted in FIG. 3, thefocus unit 323 is part of sound processing unit 226. In someembodiments, the focus unit 323 may be a separate component from thesound processing unit 226 that is in signal communication therewith viaa communication line. In some embodiments, the determinator 320communicates with the focus unit 323 (directly or indirectly).Hereinafter, the functionality of the focus unit 323 may be applied tothe sound processor 226, and reference may be made to the soundprocessor 226 having the functionality of the focus unit. Moreover, thefunctionality of the focus unit 323 may be applied to the externalcomponent 242 and to the hearing prosthesis 300, and reference may bemade to the external component 242 and the hearing prosthesis 300 ashaving the functionality of the focus unit 323.

In an exemplary embodiment, the adjustment made by the focus unit 323 ismade to adjust the focus (i.e., directionality) of the sound captureapparatus 310 such that the sound capture apparatus 310 focuses on thearea in front of the recipient. However, as noted above, the externalcomponent 242, and thus the microphones 224A, 224B and 224C, may beplaced on the recipient such that it has/they have a variety ofrotational orientations. Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, thehearing prosthesis 300 utilizes the direction of gravity 520, which itdetects utilizing determinator 320, to direct the sound captureapparatus 310 such that it focuses on an area in front of the recipient.Specifically, in an exemplary embodiment, the focus unit 323 isconfigured to adjust the focus of the sound capture apparatus 310 tofocus on an area that is aligned with a direction normal (or, in analternate embodiment, at another desirable angle, as will be describedbelow) to the direction of gravity 520 and to the right of the externalcomponent 242 (with reference to the external component 242 as depictedin FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B, corresponding to a location in front of therecipient 500) when the external component is attached to the right sideof a recipient's head (or to the left of the external component, withrespect to FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B, also corresponding to the front of therecipient 500 when the external component is attached to the left sideof the recipient's head). Such adjustment will typically focus on thearea in front of the recipient during normal use of the externalcomponent 242. (An embodiment that accounts for the possibility that therecipient's head may not be consistently aligned with the direction ofgravity is discussed below.)

Element 540 of the figures depicts a conceptual sound focus loberepresenting an area on which the sound capture apparatus 310 isfocused. (Note that this is a conceptual depiction of a sound focuslobe.) As may be seen, focused area 540 is an area that extends normalto the direction of gravity 520 in front of the recipient with acenterline 530 at about head level of the recipient. The externalcomponent 242 may be configured to automatically focus the beam in agiven direction once the direction of gravity 520 is determined. Thismay be done utilizing software, hardware and/or firmware based on thefact that, in some embodiments, the external component 242 may beattached to the same side of the recipient in that the implantablecomponent 244A is located only on one side of the recipient (indeed, itis typically attached at the same location). This further may be doneutilizing software, hardware and/or firmware based on the fact that, insome embodiments, the external component 242 may be attached atlocations on two sides of the recipient in that the recipient may havetwo implantable components 244A located on both sides of the recipient.The software, hardware and/or firmware may be configured toautomatically determine which side of the head the external component242 is attached, and focus accordingly. In other embodiments, theexternal component 242 may receive input from the recipient in thisregard, and, using the determined direction of gravity 520, focus thesound capture apparatus 310 accordingly. Thus, an embodiment of thepresent invention provides a device, system and method that permits theorientation of the sound capture apparatus 310, relative to therecipient, to be variable, while maintaining a focus of the soundcapture apparatus 310 towards an area in front of the recipient 500, bydetermining a parameter indicative of the rotational orientation of theexternal component 242 relative to a fixed reference. As noted above,some embodiments utilize beamforming. In this regard, an exemplaryembodiment includes automatically directing a sound capture direction ina desired direction through beamforming.

More specifically, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 above, determinator320, which may be an accelerometer fixedly held in the externalcomponent 242, generates a parameter indicative of the rotationalorientation of the external component 242 by, in an exemplaryembodiment, outputting a signal to focus unit 323, and thus signalprocessing unit 226, via signal line 322. In an exemplary embodiment,the generated parameter is an output voltage that is used by focus unit323 to adjust the focus of the sound capture apparatus 310 throughbeamforming (discussed further below). In an exemplary embodiment, thefocus unit 323 and/or the signal processing unit 226 includes analgorithm stored therein that adjusts the direction based on a voltageoutput by the determinator 320. In an alternate embodiment, thedeterminator 320 generates a parameter indicative of the rotationalorientation of the external component 242, and thus the microphones224A, 224B and 224C, by outputting a digital signal to focusing unit 323and/or the signal processing unit 226 that contains the angle relativeto the direction of gravity that reference line 550, or anotherappropriate reference line, to which the alignment of the determinator320 is known, is positioned (described further below). Any device,system or method that will permit an orientation of the externalcomponent/the sound capture apparatus relative to a fixed reference(e.g., the direction of gravity) to be ascertained may be used in someembodiments of the present invention.

As noted above, an accelerometer may be used as or part of thedeterminator 320. In an exemplary embodiment, the accelerometer is fixedrelative to the external component 242, and thus microphones 224A, 224Band 224C, such that its orientation relative to, for example, areference line such as reference line 550, is known. Because theorientation of the microphones 224A, 224B and 224C relative to thereference line 550 is also known (indeed, the reference line 550 isestablished based on the orientation of the microphones in theembodiments of FIGS. 5-6B), the sound capture apparatus 310 may befocused accordingly. By way of example, FIG. 6A depicts the externalcomponent 242 at a rotational orientation such that reference line 550is at a zero degree angle with the direction of gravity 520. Incontrast, FIG. 6B depicts the external component 242 at a rotationalorientation such that reference line 550 is at a 165 degree angle withthe direction of gravity 520 (with reference line 550′ corresponding tothe location of reference line 550 as oriented in FIG. 6A), where thesound capture apparatus 310 has directed the focus of the sound captureapparatus as shown by focus area 540.

While the above embodiments have been described in terms of utilizingthe direction of gravity as the reference, in an alternate embodiment, amagnetic field generated by the implantable component 244A may be usedas the reference, a reference that is fixed to an orientation of therecipient. By way of example, implantable component 244A may beconfigured such that it produces a magnetic field (field 360 withreference to FIG. 3) that is at least substantially fixed relative tothe recipient's head and that may be sensed by the external component242. In an exemplary embodiment, the magnetic field has a property, suchas a fixed pattern and/or direction that can be analyzed by determinator320 to determine the rotational orientation of the external component242 relative to the magnetic field. By analogy, such a magnetic fieldmay be akin to the Earth's magnetic field, and the determinator 320 maybe akin to a magnetic compass.

It is noted that in an alternate embodiment, the external component maybe configured such that it produces the magnetic field and theimplantable component 244A may be configured such that it detects themagnetic field. In such an embodiment, the magnetic field varies,relative to the implantable component, with variation in orientation ofthe external component relative to the implantable component. Theimplantable component may detect a property of the field and determinefrom said property an orientation of the external component relative tothe implantable component.

In the embodiments just detailed, the component detecting the propertyof the magnetic field is the component that determines an orientation ofthe external component based on that property. However, in analternative embodiment, the component detecting the property of themagnetic field may simply relay data indicative of the detected magneticfield to the other component so that the other component may determinethe orientation of the external component.

While the above embodiments have been detailed in terms of utilizingproperties of a magnetic field to determine the orientation of theexternal component 242, other embodiments may use other physicalphenomena. By way of example only and not by way of limitation, anelectromagnetic signal may be used that has varying properties about thecomponent generating the electromagnetic signal. For example, thevarying property may be a signal strength that may be at a first levelat a direction of, for example, 45 degrees from a reference on thecomponent at a given distance from the component, and may be a differentlevel at a direction of, for example, 95 degrees from the reference atthe given distance. That is, the levels may be detectably different atvarious angles relative to the reference, and thus the orientation maybe determined based on those levels. That is, the hearing prosthesis maybe configured to analyze the signal strength and determine anorientation of the external component 242 based on the signal strength.In an exemplary embodiment, the physical phenomenon utilized may be thesame as or otherwise based on the principle of the VariableOmni-directional Rangefinder (VOR) utilized in aviation, where an RFsignal is generated by one component and is received by anothercomponent, and analyzed by one of the components to determineorientation relative to the other component.

In an exemplary embodiment, any device, system or method may be used topractice some or all of the embodiments detailed herein and variationsthereof utilizing the aforementioned physical phenomenon (magneticfield, RF signal, etc., herein collectively referred to as a referencefield) generated by one or more components of the hearing prosthesis,regardless of which component generates the physical phenomenon, whichcomponent detects the physical phenomenon, or which component determinesthe orientation of the external component.

In yet another alternate embodiment, a gyroscope is or is part of thedeterminator 320. In yet another alternate embodiment, a gravity biasedpendulum may be used as or part of the determinator 320. Any type ofangle sensing device may be utilized. Moreover, a miniaturized inertialnavigation system or a subset thereof may be used in some embodiments.Any device system or method to generate a parameter indicative of therotational orientation of the external component relative to a fixedreference may be used in some embodiments of the present invention.

With respect to embodiments utilizing the direction of gravity as thefixed reference, some embodiments may include a feature that compensatesfor the fact that the recipient will tilt his or her head, and thuschange the orientation of the external component 242 relative to thedirection of gravity 520. For example, the external component 242 may beconfigured to recognize a pattern of angle changes and identify when therecipient positions his or head approximately level to the horizon. Byway of example, with respect to the embodiment detailed above utilizingthe accelerometer that outputs a digital signal that contains the anglerelative to the direction of gravity that reference line 550 ispositioned, the outputted signal will register a first angle when therecipient's head is level, and a second angle when the recipient's headis tilted downward. The external component may be configured to evaluatethe pattern of angles to identify when the recipient is tilting his headdownward or holding his head level. The angles corresponding to when therecipient is determined to be tilting his head may be automaticallydisregarded. In an alternate embodiment, the external component 242 maybe configured to ignore intermittent changes in orientation of theexternal component 242 relative to the direction of gravity 520. Stillfurther by example, an algorithm might be used based on the principalthat a recipient will typically tilt his head downward (e.g., to read)more often than he will tilt his head upward and/or the angle that arecipient may tilt his head downward may be relatively uniform ascompared to the angle that the recipient tilts his head upward.Registered angles falling within the two extremes may be, most likely,those where the recipient is holding his head level, and thus theexternal component 242 uses these angles as the basis to adjust thefocus of the sound capture apparatus 310. Any device, system or methodthat may be used to compensate for the fact that the recipient will tilthis head may be used in some embodiments if such will permit embodimentsof the present invention to be practiced.

As noted above, the sound capture apparatus 310 is configured to focuson an area (i.e., it includes directional capability) relative to therecipient and the hearing prosthesis 300, via the focus unit 323, isconfigured to adjust the direction of focus of the sound captureapparatus 310 based on at least a generated parameter indicative of therotational orientation of the external component 242 relative to a fixedreference. In an exemplary embodiment, the focus of the sound captureapparatus 310 is adjusted through beamforming. In an exemplaryembodiment, the sound processing unit 226 receives respective signalsfrom the microphones 224A, 224B and 224C and/or other microphonesindicative of sound captured by these microphones. The sound processingunit 226, via focus unit 323, further receives input from thedeterminator 320 indicative of the generated rotational orientation ofthe external component. The sound processing unit 226 processes thesesignals under the direction of the focus unit 323 to adjust the focus ofthe sound capture apparatus 310 based on the received input from thedeterminator 320 to adjust the focus of the sound capture apparatus 310.This permits the sound capture apparatus 310 to focus on the area infront of the recipient.

In some embodiments, where the sound processing unit 226 is located inthe internal component 244A, the output from focus unit 323 and/or frommicrophones 224A-C and/or from determinator 320 may be transmittedacross link 342 to the internal component 244A where it is received bythe sound processing unit 226. In such an exemplary embodiment, theoutput from focus unit 323 might include instructions to the soundprocessing unit 226 as to how to process the signals from themicrophones to achieve the focusing as detailed herein. In someembodiments, the focus unit 323 may be located in the internal component244A as well. Accordingly, in an exemplary embodiment, the output fromthe microphones 224A-C and the determinator 320 may be transmittedacross link 342 where it is received by the sound processing unit 226and/or focus unit 323, which function as detailed above.

As noted above, in some embodiments, the sound processing unit includesfocus unit 323 and in other embodiments the focus unit 323 is separatefrom sound processing unit 226. That is, in some embodiments, a unitseparate from the sound processing unit pre-processes the signals fromthe microphones based on the generated parameter indicative of therotational orientation of the external component 242 prior to receipt ofthe now-pre-processed signals by the sound processing unit 226. Thisunit, such as the focus unit 323, separate from the sound processingunit 226, may variously amplify and/or suppress the respective signalsto adjust the focus of the sound capture apparatus 310. In such anexemplary embodiment, signal communication lines 324A, 324B and 324C maylead to focus unit 323 prior to, if at all, leading to sound processingunit 226, as opposed to the configuration depicted in FIG. 3.

In yet another embodiment, one or more of the microphones might beadjusted by the external component 242, via the focus unit 323 and/orsound processing unit 226 and/or the sound capture apparatus 310, toadjust the focus of the sound capture apparatus. In an exemplaryembodiment, the external component 242 adjusts the focus of the soundcapture apparatus 310 by disabling the microphones furthest from thefront of the recipient and enabling the microphone closest to the frontof the recipient. With respect to FIGS. 6A and 6B, this may correspondto enabling microphones 224B and 224C, respectively, and disabling theother respective microphones. In an exemplary embodiment, the soundcapture apparatus 310 is configured to adjust the focus of the soundcapture through selective acceptance and/or disregardance of one or moreof the output signals of the microphones. In an exemplary embodiment,the external component 242 adjusts the focus of the sound captureapparatus 310 by disregarding the output of the microphones furthestfrom the front of the recipient and accepting the output of themicrophone closest to the front of the recipient. With respect to FIGS.6A and 6B, this would correspond to respectively accepting the outputsignals of microphones 224B and 224C and respectively disregarding theoutput of the other microphones. In an exemplary embodiment, the soundcapture apparatus 310 is configured to adjust the focus of the soundcapture through selective maintenance and/or reduction of one or more ofthe output signals of the microphones. In an exemplary embodiment, theexternal component 242 adjusts the focus of the sound capture apparatus310 by reducing the level (or amplitude) of the output of themicrophones furthest from the front of the recipient and maintaining thelevel of the output of the microphone closest to the front of therecipient. With respect to FIGS. 6A and 6B, this would correspond torespectively maintaining the output of microphones 224B and 224C andrespectively reducing the output of the other respective microphones. Inan exemplary embodiment, the sound capture apparatus 310 is configuredto adjust the focus of the sound capture through selective amplificationand/or maintenance of one or more of the output signals of themicrophones. In an exemplary embodiment, the external component 242adjusts the focus of the sound capture apparatus 310 by maintaining thelevel of the output of the microphones furthest from the front of therecipient and increasing the level of the output of the microphoneclosest to the front of the recipient. With respect to FIGS. 6A and 6B,this would correspond to respectively increasing the output ofmicrophones 224B and 224C and respectively maintaining the output of theother respective microphones.

In yet a further embodiment, one or more of the embodiments described inthe preceding paragraph may be combined with one or more of theembodiments detailed herein that utilizes beamforming techniques tofocus on a given area. By way of example, and with respect to FIG. 6A,the external component 242 may adjust the focus of the sound captureapparatus 310 by disregarding the output of the microphone 224A,accepting the output of the microphones 224C and 224B and applyingbeamforming techniques to the output of the microphones 224C and 224B.

Any device, system or method that will permit the focus of the soundcapture apparatus to be achieved based on the generated parameterindicative of the rotational orientation of the external component maybe used to practice some embodiments of the present invention.

It is noted that while in some embodiments of the present invention themicrophones are omnidirectional microphones, other embodiments may bepracticed with non-omnidirectional microphones.

In view of the above, some embodiments permit sound capture apparatus310 to maintain its focus towards a desired area regardless of therotational orientation of external component 242 relative to therecipient.

An exemplary embodiment includes a method of enhancing hearing of arecipient utilizing a hearing prosthesis. The method entailsautomatically focusing the sound capture apparatus 310 based on anorientation of a component (e.g., the microphones) of the hearingprosthesis 200 relative to a fixed reference such as the direction ofgravity 520. Such a method may include automatically focusing a firstfocus of the sound capture apparatus 310 in a first direction relativeto a frame of reference (e.g., line 550 of FIG. 5A) that is based on thecomponent (e.g., the microphones) of the hearing prosthesis 242 based ona first orientation of the component of the hearing prosthesis relativeto the fixed reference. The method further includes automaticallyfocusing a second focus of the sound capture apparatus 310 in a seconddirection relative to the frame of reference based on the component ofthe hearing prosthesis based on a second orientation of the externalcomponent of the hearing prosthesis relative to the fixed reference, thesecond orientation being different from the first orientation. FIGS. 6Aand 6B schematically illustrate the results of this method. As may beseen in these FIGS., the first focus of the sound capture apparatus andthe second focus of the sound capture apparatus, relative to therecipient, are substantially identical, yet the first focus and thesecond focus are different relative to the frame of reference based onthe microphones.

Owing to the use of a magnetic field that permits external component 242to rotate relative to the recipient, in some embodiments, the externalcomponent 242 is attachable to the recipient in potentially an infinitenumber of rotational orientations relative to the recipient.Accordingly, in at least some exemplary embodiments, external component242 is attachable to the recipient in at least 36 rotationalorientations relative to the recipient that are each at least five andor ten degrees different from their respective neighboring orientations.

While the above embodiments have been detailed in view of focusing on anarea in front of the recipient, in other embodiments, the sound captureapparatus 310 may focus on any given area about the user utilizing thedevices, systems and methods as detailed herein and variations thereof.By way of example, the external component 242 may include a recipientinterface that permits the recipient to control the area of focus of thesound capture apparatus 310. In an exemplary embodiment, the recipientcan input a control command to focus on any of twelve positions on ahorizontal plane about the recipient (corresponding to the twelvepositions of the clock, with the 12 o'clock position being directly infront of the recipient) and/or input a control command to focus on anyof twelve positions on a vertical plane about the recipient(corresponding to the twelve positions of the clock, with the 12 o'clockposition being directly on top of the recipient). Such embodiments mayinclude an algorithm that processes the received control command andadjusts the focus of the sound capture apparatus 310 based on thespatial orientation of the external component 242 relative to a fixedreference.

FIG. 8 provides a flow-chart 800 for an exemplary algorithm that may beused in some embodiments of the present invention. This algorithm 800will be described in terms of an exemplary scenario utilizing theexternal component 242.

In an exemplary scenario, a recipient of a hearing prosthesis (e.g., adirect acoustic cochlear stimulator, cochlear implant, transcutaneousbone conduction devices, etc.) awakens from night sleep and retrieveshis or her external component 242 from a charging station remote fromthe recipient. The recipient had removed the external component 242 fromhimself/herself the night before and attached it to the charging stationto recharge the rechargeable batteries of the external component 242.The user places the external component 242 against his/her head andmoves it around over the surface of the skin/hair of his/her head untilhe/she senses that the magnetic field has been adequately establishedbetween the external component 242 and the internal component 244A tohold the external component 242 against his head. The user then releasesthe external component 242. In this exemplary scenario, the user makeslittle to no effort to rotationally align the external component 242 ina given manner. The resulting position and alignment of the externalcomponent 242/the sound capture apparatus 310 is depicted in FIG. 5.Typically, the spatial position of the external component 242 on thehead of the recipient will be the same every time that the recipientattaches the external component 242 to his head, due to theself-aligning properties of the magnetic field that is establishedbetween the external component 242 and the internal component 244A.However, the rotational orientation of the external component 242, andthus the sound capture apparatus 310 may be different, as detailedabove.

At some point during the actions detailed above in the precedingparagraph, an indication that the rotational orientation of the externalcomponent 242 and/or the sound capture apparatus 310 should be evaluatedis received by a component of the external component 242 (e.g., acontroller (not shown) and/or the sound processing unit 226, etc.). Thiscorresponds to step 810 of algorithm 800. Such indication may be aresult of the external component 242 being removed from the chargingstation, activation of the external component 242 by the recipientand/or sensation of a magnetic field upon placement of the externalcomponent 242 adjacent the internal component 244A, etc. Such indicationmay further be a result of a time period that has elapsed since the lasttime that the rotational orientation of the external component wasevaluated and/or may be a result of the recipient providing a controlcommand to the external component 242 to evaluate the rotationalorientation of the external component, etc. (Note that evaluation of therotational orientation includes reevaluation of the rotationalorientation.)

Upon receipt of the indication that the rotational orientation of theexternal component 242 and/or the sound capture apparatus 310 should beevaluated, a parameter indicative of the rotational orientation of theexternal component 242 and/or the sound capture apparatus 310 relativeto a reference, such as a fixed reference, is generated at step 820. Atstep 830, a check is performed to determine if an indication of analternate direction requirement of the sound capture apparatus 310 hasbeen received. In an exemplary embodiment, the external component 242 isconfigured to, as a default, focus the sound capture apparatus 320towards an area corresponding to the front of the recipient, as detailedabove. However, an alternate direction requirement of the sound captureapparatus 310 may have been received. Such an exemplary alternatedirection requirement may correspond to the recipient inputting that thesound capture apparatus 310 should be focused to the right side of therecipient level with the recipient (3 o'clock position on the horizontalplane, 3 o'clock position on the vertical plane), where the recipient isdriving a left side steering wheel automobile and a passenger in thefront seat is speaking to the recipient. At step 840, the focus of thesound capture apparatus is adjusted based on the generated parameterindicative of the rotational orientation of the external component andbased on any received alternate direction requirement of the soundcapture apparatus 310. With respect to the exemplary alternate directionrequirement just described, step 840 will result in the sound captureapparatus 310 being focused directly to the right of the recipient levelwith the recipient's head.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilledin the relevant art that various changes in form and detail may be madetherein without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, thebreadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by anyof the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined onlyin accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A hearing prosthesis, the hearing prosthesis comprising: a pluralityof sound capture devices; and a determinator configured to generate aparameter indicative of an orientation of the plurality of sound capturedevices relative to a reference, wherein the hearing prosthesis isconfigured to adjust a direction of focus of the hearing prosthesisbased on at least the parameter. 2-5. (canceled)
 6. The hearingprosthesis of claim 1, wherein: the hearing prosthesis is configured toadjust the focus of the sound capture apparatus based on the orientationof the plurality of sound capture devices through selective enablementand/or disablement of at least one sound capture device of the pluralityof sound capture devices. 7-14. (canceled)
 15. A method of capturingsound with a hearing prosthesis, comprising: automatically focusing asound capture apparatus based on an orientation of a component of thehearing prosthesis relative to a reference.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the action of automatically focusing the sound capture apparatusbased on an orientation of a component of a hearing prosthesis relativeto a reference includes: automatically focusing a first focus of thesound capture apparatus in a first direction relative to a frame ofreference of the component of the hearing prosthesis based on a firstorientation of the component of the hearing prosthesis relative to thereference, the method further comprising: automatically focusing asecond focus of the sound capture apparatus in a second directionrelative to the frame of reference of the component of the hearingprosthesis based on a second orientation of the component of the hearingprosthesis relative to the reference, the second orientation beingdifferent from the first orientation.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein: the first focus of the sound capture apparatus and the secondfocus of the sound capture apparatus, relative to a recipient of thehearing prosthesis, are substantially identical.
 18. The method of claim16, wherein: the second orientation is substantially rotationallydifferent, relative to the reference, from the first orientation. 19.The method of claim 15, further comprising: evaluating a plurality ofgenerated parameters indicative of a plurality of respectiveorientations of the component relative to the direction of gravity toidentify a parameter of the plurality of parameters that is indicativeof a tilt of the recipient's head being normal to the direction ofgravity, wherein the orientation of the component of the hearingprosthesis relative to the reference is based on the identifiedparameter.
 20. A hearing prosthesis, the hearing prosthesis comprising:a plurality of sound capture devices configured to automatically directa sound capture direction in a direction relative to a referenceirrespective of a rotational orientation of the sound capture devicesrelative to the reference.
 21. The hearing prosthesis of claim 20,wherein: the hearing prosthesis is configured to automatically directthe sound capture direction through beamforming.
 22. The hearingprosthesis of claim 20, wherein: the hearing prosthesis is configured tosense an orientation of the plurality of sound capture devices relativeto the reference and automatically direct the sound capture direction toencompass the direction relative to the reference irrespective of therotational orientation of the plurality of sound capture devicesrelative to the reference based on the sensed orientation.
 23. A hearingprosthesis, the hearing prosthesis comprising: an implantable component;and an external component, wherein at least one of: at least one of theimplantable component or the external component is operable toautomatically focus a sound capture apparatus of the external componentbased on an orientation of the external component relative to areference; or at least one of the implantable component or the externalcomponent is operable to generate a reference field, at least the otherof the implantable component or the external component is operable todetect a property of the reference field, and the hearing prosthesis isoperable to determine from said property an orientation of the externalcomponent relative to the implantable component.
 24. The hearingprosthesis of claim 32, wherein the reference field is a magnetic field.25. The hearing prosthesis of claim 32, wherein: the implantablecomponent is operable to generate the reference field; and the externalcomponent is operable to detect the property of the reference field. 26.The hearing prosthesis of claim 32, wherein the property is a fixedpattern.
 27. The hearing prosthesis of claim 32, wherein the property isa direction.
 28. The hearing prosthesis of claim 32, wherein the hearingprosthesis is operable to adjust processing of a sound received at theexternal component by reference to the orientation.
 29. The hearingprosthesis of claim 32, wherein the external component comprises theplurality of sound capture devices, wherein the hearing prosthesis isconfigured to adjust a direction of focus of the plurality of soundcapture devices by reference to the orientation.
 30. (canceled)
 31. Thehearing prosthesis of claim 23, wherein at least one of the implantablecomponent or the external component is operable to automatically focusthe sound capture apparatus of the external component based on theorientation of the external component relative to the reference.
 32. Thehearing prosthesis of claim 23, wherein at least one of the implantablecomponent or the external component is operable to generate thereference field, at least the other of the implantable component or theexternal component is operable to detect the property of the referencefield, and the hearing prosthesis is operable to determine from saidproperty an orientation of the external component relative to theimplantable component.
 33. The hearing prosthesis of claim 31, wherein:the hearing prosthesis is configured to use a direction of gravity asthe basis of the adjustment.
 34. The hearing prosthesis of claim 32,wherein: the property is a magnetic field.
 35. The hearing prosthesis ofclaim 31, wherein: the hearing prosthesis is configured to use a fixedreference as the basis of the adjustment.
 36. The hearing prosthesis ofclaim 31, wherein: the hearing prosthesis includes an accelerometer; andthe hearing prosthesis is configured to use output from theaccelerometer as a parameter indicative of the orientation of theplurality of sound capture devices and use that as the basis of theadjustment.
 37. The hearing prosthesis of claim 36, wherein: theaccelerometer is configured to output a signal indicative of anorientation of the accelerometer relative to the direction of gravity,wherein the orientation of the accelerometer is fixed relative to theplurality of sound capture devices.
 38. The hearing prosthesis of claim23, wherein: the hearing prosthesis comprises one or more of thefollowing types of hearing prostheses: a cochlear implant, a boneconduction device or a direct acoustic cochlear stimulator.
 39. Thehearing prosthesis of claim 31, wherein the hearing prosthesis isconfigured such that the automatic focusing of the sound captureapparatus based on an orientation of a component of a hearing prosthesisrelative to a reference is executed by: automatically focusing a firstfocus of the sound capture apparatus in a first direction relative to aframe of reference of the component of the hearing prosthesis based on afirst orientation of the component of the hearing prosthesis relative tothe reference, the method further comprising: automatically focusing asecond focus of the sound capture apparatus in a second directionrelative to the frame of reference of the component of the hearingprosthesis based on a second orientation of the component of the hearingprosthesis relative to the reference, the second orientation beingdifferent from the first orientation.